1306911 - [Request] Please bring Thunderbird to the Microsoft Store

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Thunderbird :: Installer, enhancement)

Description

[jantari]

Attachment: Thunderbird converted to .appx and working

Hello Mozilla!

I have tested the Microsoft Desktop App Converter (https://msdn.microsoft.com/windows/uwp/porting/desktop-to-uwp-run-desktop-app-converter) on Mozilla Thunderbird 45.3.0, and it worked beautifully!

This means you can put Thunderbird on the Windows Store without complications!

Since Thunderbird depends on the MS Visual C++ Runtime, you will need to read this:
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/vcblog/2016/07/07/using-visual-c-runtime-in-centennial-project/

and I used the -InstallerArguments "/s" argument with the desktop app converter to install Thunderbird into the VM without user interaction.

I will attach a screenshot of it working!

Comment 1

[Jorg K (CEST = GMT+2)]

TB in the Windows store sounds good, right? Maybe our infra engineer could look into this ;-)

Comment 2

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

Uh, isn't these kind of apps what used to be called Metro? You may recall Firefox got rid of that. 
There's also the issue of updating - we'd need to produce these special apps for every update and make all of that updating work, right? Doesn't sound that intriguing....

Comment 3

[Richard Marti (:Paenglab)]

And it looks that where are crash problems with such programs: https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/82394/desktop-bridge-powered-apps-can-crash-windows-stay-away-now

Comment 4

[jantari]

(In reply to Magnus Melin from comment #2)
> Uh, isn't these kind of apps what used to be called Metro? You may recall
> Firefox got rid of that. 
> There's also the issue of updating - we'd need to produce these special apps
> for every update and make all of that updating work, right? Doesn't sound
> that intriguing....

Hello Mr. Melin. Thanks for your interest. No, this has nothing to do with "Metro-Apps", the Windows Store can (now) distribute traditional Win32 programs like Kodi, SumatraPDF or Thunderbird. They are packaged in an .appx container to ensure the end user can install and fully uninstall them with 1 click.

You are correct, you will have to run 1 command each time you want to push a new version of Thunderbird to the Store (to convert your latest Thunderbird version to .appx) and then submit the result of that to the Store. You don't have to do anything to make the updating work, the end user choses whether the Store automatically updates his or her apps, or whether you prefer to manually check for updates. Default setting is automatic updates enabled.

Comment 6

[Kent James (:rkent)]

(In reply to Richard Marti (:Paenglab) from comment #3)
> And it looks that where are crash problems with such programs:
> https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/82394/desktop-bridge-powered-
> apps-can-crash-windows-stay-away-now

"A Windows update (Version 14393.351 - KB3197954) was released on 10/27/16 that includes important fixes that address this issue. "

I don't see any reasons why we don't add Thunderbird to the app store, but it needs to be part of a regular process that gets done during release, and not a one-off.

Comment 7

[Mikael Jakobsson]

Would also love to see it to Windows Store some type of software works great today with UWP and some not, and UWP keep the computers registery clean frome changes, easer to update and unstall, but would perf to see a rebuild frome scrath for UWP so is possibol to install it one XBOX 360 to so i can get notic when am get email when am play some games :) and not ben arount my PC. 

But a convert would be great begning and build changes for match it for more UWP, and take part also with Windows 10 new API and build into Cortana and Action center etc.

Comment 8

[Matteo]

Considering the release of Windows 10S, that will only allow apps installed from the store, I believe that this should become a priority.
As Mikael Jakobsson pointed out, this would also enable Thunderbird to profit of the more modern technologies of UWP to better interact with the rest of the system and apps (to name a few examples, interaction with the Windows Contacts and Online Accounts providers, or Windows Hello signing integration...)

Comment 9

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

Based on this, https://betanews.com/2017/05/10/browsers-coming-to-windows-10-s-must-use-microsofts-engine/ I doubt this would even be feasible for 10S.

Comment 10

[jebeld17]

Any news on making this happen?

Comment 11

[Leman Bennett [Omega]]

Someone already did it. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/thunderbird/9pcvbx66llqf?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

Whether or not if it was Mozilla is another story.

Comment 12

[jebeld17]

I've taken it into my own hands to distribute Thunderbird in the Microsoft Store under my account. This is a proof-of-concept, but also a real valid program converted only using Microsoft's tools and Thunderbird's non-administrative installer that can continue to function with or without the listing being online or updated in the Microsoft Store.

It's converted as a non-administrative installation to allow Thunderbird to receive updates from official Mozilla repos without editing system files in the way an administrative installation would work, which works just fine with Windows "container" vision for apps.

Everything is whitepapered for transparency on GitHub at https://github.com/jebeld17/Store-Ports_Thunderbird.

Comment 13

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to jebeld17 from comment #12)

I've taken it into my own hands to distribute Thunderbird in the Microsoft Store under my account. This is a proof-of-concept,

Hi jebeld17.

What do you mean by "Proof-of-concept"? ("Proof-of-concept" implies to me there is an alternative or not-yet-final method.)

Also, is it known to work with Windows 10S ?

Comment 14

[jantari]

I can confirm and prove that the Store version runs on Windows 10 when S-Mode is enabled (Windows 10 S is no longer a seperate SKU of the OS, it is now just a toggle switch)

Screenshot of it working on Windows 10 in S-Mode

Also, I made this request 3 years ago and just want to mention that the whole Store (UI, reliability, features) has gotten a lot better.
It would be even nicer now to have Thunderbird on there than it would've been back 3 years ago.

Also it is no problem to integrate creating and publishing a Store package into your existing CI/CD workflow for pushing new releases out,
so there is no need to be afraid of extra work or time spent doing this.

Comment 15

[u657041]

Any news?

It would be awesome if a Windows Store version exist, which also can be a lot better protected if it run as AppContainer app.

Info about AppContainer: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/secauthz/appcontainer-isolation

Comment 16

[jebeld17]

(In reply to schwarzmetal from comment #15)

Any news?

It would be awesome if a Windows Store version exist, which also can be a lot better protected if it run as AppContainer app.

Info about AppContainer: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/secauthz/appcontainer-isolation

I agree. Any news?

Comment 17

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Firefox hasn't done this yet - bug 1549103
And this might be dependent on bug 1162562?

Comment 18

[Masatoshi Kimura [:emk]]

Firefox can't move to UWP because Microsoft forces web browsers to use HTML/JavaScript engines from the Operating System. That is, Trident, EdgeHTML, or WebView 2. Since Thunderbird is not a web browser, it is unrestricted. So Thunderbird shouldn't wait until Firefox moves to UWP.

Comment 19

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

Longer term if we have enough free cycles, at some point we should investigate how feasible it would be, sure.

Comment 20

[jebeld17]

I 1000% forgot I did this at this point, and I had already spoken with Mozilla about it. Nothing was kept in the Store and was originally and primarily just as a propf-of-concept proving a real, workable sandboxed Thunderbird was feasible. I'm glad to see that Mozilla now knows, and who knows - maybe there will be some real refinements to both the Microsoft Store's policies and how Thunderbird is distributed.

(In reply to jebeld17 from comment #12)

I've taken it into my own hands to distribute Thunderbird in the Microsoft Store under my account. This is a proof-of-concept, but also a real valid program converted only using Microsoft's tools and Thunderbird's non-administrative installer that can continue to function with or without the listing being online or updated in the Microsoft Store.

It's converted as a non-administrative installation to allow Thunderbird to receive updates from official Mozilla repos without editing system files in the way an administrative installation would work, which works just fine with Windows "container" vision for apps.

Everything is whitepapered for transparency on GitHub at https://github.com/jebeld17/Store-Ports_Thunderbird.

Comment 21

[jebeld17]

Microsoft honestly doesn't care, with the rise of Chromium and WebKit.

(In reply to Masatoshi Kimura [:emk] from comment #18)

Firefox can't move to UWP because Microsoft forces web browsers to use HTML/JavaScript engines from the Operating System. That is, Trident, EdgeHTML, or WebView 2. Since Thunderbird is not a web browser, it is unrestricted. So Thunderbird shouldn't wait until Firefox moves to UWP.

Comment 22

[u657041]

4 years later. Looks like nobody care about

Comment 23

[Masatoshi Kimura [:emk]]

(In reply to jebeld17 from comment #21)

Microsoft honestly doesn't care, with the rise of Chromium and WebKit.

No Chromium/WebKit browsers are distributed on Windows Store, because Microsoft disallows that. Even Chromium based Microsoft Edge is not. (Microsoft is fair about this point.)

Comment 24

[talam10285]

I would like to revisit this because it is now possible to put traditional win32 programs into the Microsoft Store without packaging them or using any of Microsoft's tools. Essentially, the Microsoft Store is now a frontend for WinGet.

See this Reddit thread for more information (it talks about Firefox, but the information in the Reddit thread also applies to Thunderbird): https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/obryhr/putting_firefox_in_the_microsoft_store/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Comment 25

[Fretice]

I agree with what Talam said. This should be revisited, especially now that Mozilla Firefox has officially been added to the Microsoft Store: https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9NZVDKPMR9RD

It will be available once version 94 rolls out: https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/news/news-from-firefox-focus-and-firefox-on-mobile/

With that said, my point is... why not do the same for Mozilla Thunderbird too?

Comment 26

[nawape1953]

Could somebody please edit the title of this bug? The "Windows Store" has been renamed to the "Microsoft Store" for many years now.

Comment 27

[Sylvestre Ledru [:Sylvestre]]

right, thanks!

Comment 28

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Some of the key Firefox bugs:

• Bug 1728471 - Produce MSIX packages with Mozilla's Microsoft Partner Centre identity values for the Microsoft Store
• Bug 1709696 - [meta] Package into MSIX
• Bug 1736847 - Create KB article for Microsoft store presence

Plus a bad performance issue:

• Bug 1736742 - MSIX: AccessibleHandler is not registered, causing severe performance issues for a11y

Comment 29

[nawape1953]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #28)

Some of the key Firefox bugs:

• Bug 1728471 - Produce MSIX packages with Mozilla's Microsoft Partner Centre identity values for the Microsoft Store
• Bug 1709696 - [meta] Package into MSIX
• Bug 1736847 - Create KB article for Microsoft store presence

Plus a bad performance issue:

• Bug 1736742 - MSIX: AccessibleHandler is not registered, causing severe performance issues for a11y

Mozilla is still going ahead with it and most (if not all) of the issues will be fixed by release or along the way.

I really don't see why that stops Mozilla Thunderbird from following in the same footsteps.

By the way, an MSIX package isn't even required: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1718594

Comment 30

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

I really don't see why that stops Mozilla Thunderbird from following in the same footsteps.

No one said it does. It might not even stop Firefox.

But when and whether this happens for Thunderbird depends how easy it is to implement and whether it is made a development/releng priority. Currently we have a releng staff of one. They will need to make a decision.

By the way, an MSIX package isn't even required: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1718594

Please use references like bug 1718594 when citing bug numbers.

Comment 31

[hiwepim439]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #30)

I really don't see why that stops Mozilla Thunderbird from following in the same footsteps.

No one said it does. It might not even stop Firefox.

But when and whether this happens for Thunderbird depends how easy it is to implement and whether it is made a development/releng priority. Currently we have a releng staff of one. They will need to make a decision.

By the way, an MSIX package isn't even required: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1718594

Please use references like bug 1718594 when citing bug numbers.

Nawape seems to think that you IMPLIED that, not said it directly.

And yes, it is generally easy to implement. Packaging it is completely optional now, but that's the route Firefox decided to take. It was clearly a priority for Firefox now that the store is completely open to just about every application. Case in point: It is easy and will probably become important going forward.

Maybe we should get the attention of that one releng staff member?

Comment 32

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

I'd think this is something we can do for Thunderbird, but we'll let Firefox do the heavy lifting first and then we can follow. This this not back-portable stuff so would be for Thunderbird 103(?) next summer.

Comment 33

[minila1272]

(In reply to Magnus Melin [:mkmelin] from comment #32)

I'd think this is something we can do for Thunderbird, but we'll let Firefox do the heavy lifting first and then we can follow. This this not back-portable stuff so would be for Thunderbird 103(?) next summer.

It is far from "heavy lifting" though, so it'll definitely possible for Thunderbird. As for why it is not back-portable, could you explain why?

Waiting till next summer for the next major version (was "103" a typo?) isn't exactly optimal, but no worries.

Comment 34

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

We have a shared code base with Firefox, so changes the Firefox engineers do to make it possible for them are likely either in shared code (=automatically in Thunderbird as well) or we have similar code paths and can more or less copy-paste fixes.

Comment 35

[devayi6514]

(In reply to Magnus Melin [:mkmelin] from comment #34)

We have a shared code base with Firefox, so changes the Firefox engineers do to make it possible for them are likely either in shared code (=automatically in Thunderbird as well) or we have similar code paths and can more or less copy-paste fixes.

Okay, so that reaffirms what previous commenters have said. What exactly is the challenge with putting Thunderbird in the Microsoft Store? This should be an easy decision to make (and an easy task for that matter). I assume it'd be an MSIX package for consistency with Firefox, but you could even just simply upload it as a regular unpackaged win32 program with no issues whatsoever.

Comment 36

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

I've been a general proponent of this, but badgering development to meet commenters' expectations of delivery isn't on my plate. Development already said what they are willing to do. And from my perspective on the release team, this definitely isn't near the top of most important issues for our users.

If you are willing to do the work yourself then great, some more information might help you do the work. Otherwise, it's not useful chatter and people like me are going to leave this bug. So please consider the value and productivity of your comments.

Comment 37

[webin59028]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #36)

I've been a general proponent of this, but badgering development to meet commenters' expectations of delivery isn't on my plate. Development already said what they are willing to do. And from my perspective on the release team, this definitely isn't near the top of most important issues for our users.

If you are willing to do the work yourself then great, some more information might help you do the work. Otherwise, it's not useful chatter and people like me are going to leave this bug. So please consider the value and productivity of your comments.

Folks, can we not argue here and trash this bug? If we want it to happen, we should act civil.

Getting back on-topic...

As for what is most important to Thunderbird users, is there a list for that? I don't see why putting Thunderbird in the Microsoft Store is necessarily "unimportant" in this case. Maybe a survey of some sorts would be helpful? Like the reporter, I would be interested in seeing this happen.

To everybody reading this, have a great rest of your day/night! I hope that all this will have a happy ending.

Comment 38

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to webin59028 from comment #37)

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #36)

I've been a general proponent of this, but badgering development to meet commenters' expectations of delivery isn't on my plate. Development already said what they are willing to do. And from my perspective on the release team, this definitely isn't near the top of most important issues for our users.

If you are willing to do the work yourself then great, some more information might help you do the work. Otherwise, it's not useful chatter and people like me are going to leave this bug. So please consider the value and productivity of your comments.

Folks, can we not argue here and trash this bug? If we want it to happen, we should act civil.

Getting back on-topic...

As for what is most important to Thunderbird users, is there a list for that? I don't see why putting Thunderbird in the Microsoft Store is necessarily "unimportant" in this case.

Please reread my comment. "unimportant" is not it.

Maybe a survey of some sorts would be helpful? Like the reporter, I would be interested in seeing this happen.

And you're not the only one. But bugzilla is for making technical progress, not for advocacy and discussion of overall development priorities. See https://developer.thunderbird.net/planning/roadmap and https://thunderbird.topicbox.com/groups/planning for further reading.

Comment 39

[vosteloste]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #38)

(In reply to webin59028 from comment #37)

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #36)

I've been a general proponent of this, but badgering development to meet commenters' expectations of delivery isn't on my plate. Development already said what they are willing to do. And from my perspective on the release team, this definitely isn't near the top of most important issues for our users.

If you are willing to do the work yourself then great, some more information might help you do the work. Otherwise, it's not useful chatter and people like me are going to leave this bug. So please consider the value and productivity of your comments.

Folks, can we not argue here and trash this bug? If we want it to happen, we should act civil.

Getting back on-topic...

As for what is most important to Thunderbird users, is there a list for that? I don't see why putting Thunderbird in the Microsoft Store is necessarily "unimportant" in this case.

Please reread my comment. "unimportant" is not it.

Maybe a survey of some sorts would be helpful? Like the reporter, I would be interested in seeing this happen.

And you're not the only one. But bugzilla is for making technical progress, not for advocacy and discussion of overall development priorities. See https://developer.thunderbird.net/planning/roadmap and https://thunderbird.topicbox.com/groups/planning for further reading.

I agree with the previous comment that it was certainly worded as "unimportant" and deserved more clarification so that people wouldn't misinterpret it.

What these people are trying to do here IS technical progress. Advocacy and discussion of overall development priorities happen anyway and are nearly unavoidable. Its a part of getting to the finish line (in this case, putting Thunderbird in the Microsoft Store).

Thanks for the links though. Those are very helpful and will come in handy as all of this continues on.

Comment 40

[Fabian Rodriguez:MagicFab]

It seems this can be closed now :

https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/mozilla-thunderbird-email/9PM5VM1S3VMQ

Comment 41

[Andrei Hajdukewycz [:sancus]]

Yeah this was resolved by Bug 1817652.